Under the Weight of a Legacy
by ASongInMyHead
Summary: Her parents were like blazing suns in the eyes of the people; bright and brilliant and beautiful. Anna lived in the shadows that they cast.


It was all Blayss's fault. There was nothing that boy enjoyed more than getting the other children in trouble, and Anna was his favourite target. She had not been able to pay attention in school at all that day. The room was too hot, and she had not done her assigned work the night before, and so she did not understand the lesson. She had penned a quick note to Min, who sat a few rows away. When Master Petronne turned his back to the class, she had thrown it to her friend. Her aim had not been true, and she had hit Blayss's head with the paper. Dread had been a heavy lump in her stomach as Blayss grinned and calmly raised his hand to tell Master Petronne. The schoolteacher had sighed and instructed Anna to stay after class.

Anna slumped over her little desk, idly filling in the answers to the mathematical problems on her sheet. She sighed. They were so simple; she could answer them correctly even in her annoyed state. It had been nearly an hour since the other students had left, surely she would be allowed to go home soon.

Attendance at a schoolhouse was mandatory for the children of Del from ages six to twelve, and optional until they were sixteen. In Anna's family, however, attendance was firmly mandatory for all ten years, something Endon had once protested with foot-stomping and tears after a particularly difficult test.

Anna's family was huge. Of course there were her parents and brothers and grandparents. But she also had two aunts and two uncles— only one of whom was at all related to her— and all of their many children. Then there was all of her parents' friends, who buzzed in and out of their lives like bees.

"Blood is important," her uncle Ranesh had once told her, "but the bonds you form with other people can be just as special, if not more."

The schoolhouse was one of the largest in the city. Rather than group all of the students in one room, they were split into two classes by age. Master Petronne had gone to the schoolhouse's other classroom to speak to the schoolmistress who taught the younger children, leaving her under the watch of his teaching assistant.

Anna sighed again, and Josef looked up from where he was correcting grammar exercises at the desk with a sympathetic smile. Although Josef had finished school a few years earlier, he had decided to become a teacher himself, and had taken to shadowing various schoolteachers across the city. Anna had been thrilled when he had eventually been assigned to her class, but despite growing up with many of the children who attended the schoolhouse, Josef took his work very seriously. This, of course, made him the target of much good-natured teasing in their extended family.

Anna reached the end of her worksheet and set her pencil down. She had finished both her unfinished work from the night before, and what Master Petronne had assigned for that evening. She slumped down in her chair, defeated by boredom.

The sound of chattering boys down the hall broke the silence. Josef looked up from his work and said, "that sounds like your brothers," at the same time as Anna groaned.

She had hoped to slip home before anyone noticed she was too late, but of course Barda and Lindal's older children would have told Endon and Jarred why she was not waiting for them in the schoolyard. And of course her brothers would tell their parents.

Footsteps followed the voices, and soon Jarred and Endon tumbled into the schoolroom, followed by Lief and Jasmine. Her parents were hand-in-hand, with their heads turned in towards each other as they spoke. Anna's lips twitched in a reluctant smile. This was the way they had always been, often acting as though they were not two separate beings, but extensions of each other's bodies. Wide-eyed Jarred was pressed against their father's side, clearly impressed by the size of the classroom that the older children occupied.

Endon eagerly ran to Anna's desk, clearly delighted by his sister's small act of rebellion. "Brid told me you threw something at a boy, is it true?"

"No," Anna snapped. but that did not impact Endon's smile. "I just needed to ask Min—" she broke off, realizing her mother was looking at them with an arched brow. "It was nothing," she finished weakly.

Jarred broke away from Lief and approached the other side of the desk. His dark eyes were huge with worry. "Are you in trouble?"

Anna looked over at their parents, but they had gone to Josef's desk, speaking with him in earnest. Jasmine had her hand on Josef's shoulder and she smiled at something he said. She was very close with his parents, and had a deep fondness for all their children. Lief was listening intently. Neither of them looked angry, but that did not mean they were not. Jasmine's temper was easy to trigger, and although Lief tended to be calmer, disappointing him was like being crushed by the weight of all the water in the nine seas.

"Why did they come?" Anna asked quietly instead. "If they knew where I was, why did they not just wait for me to come home?"

Endon shrugged. He picked up Anna's forgotten abandoned pencil and began to draw on the desk. "I heard Father tell Mother that he wanted to speak to you."

She grabbed the pencil out of his hand and did her best to smear the marks away with the side of her hand, giving Endon a half-hearted glare. Master Petronne returned, and seemed about to give Anna trouble for stopping her work, until he noticed the other occupants of the room.

"Your majesties, what a delightful surprise," the schoolmaster's voice dripped with honey, so unlike how he spoke to his students. Anna exchanged a look with Endon, and Jarred bent his head to hide his grin.

"Good afternoon, Master Petronne," Lief gifted him with a diplomatic smile. "I hear there was a disruption in class today."

Anna watched her father intently. He had yet to look towards her, and her heart fluttered nervously.

"That is unfortunately true," Master Petronne said eagerly, clearly pleased to have the king on his side. "The princess did not complete yesterday's work, and she was passing notes in class, which ended up deeply disturbing one of her classmates. I am sorry that this trouble brought you all the way here."

Anna fought the urge to roll her eyes.

"That hardly seems worthy of a punishment," Jasmine said, as if voicing her thoughts.

Master Petronne's upper lip twitched. "I will consider your thoughts, your majesty, but I do need to establish order in my schoolroom."

"Of course," Lief said hastily. "But how much longer would you say this punishment will last?"

Master Petronne looked towards Anna, who straightened and clasped her hands in what she hoped was the perfect impression of an excellent student.

The schoolmaster ran his hand through his thinning red hair. "I suppose she may leave when she finishes her schoolwork from the past two days."

"I have," Anna said with a winning smile. "May I go home?"

—

"I do not like that man," Jasmine announced as they walked through the schoolyard. Endon grinned, delighted to hear his mother speak ill of a teacher. "He speaks to us with such terrible flattery. It makes me wonder what he could possibly teach his students."

"It is difficult to find schoolteachers," Lief said grimly. "Many of the people who grew up under the Shadowlord cannot read or write, and most who can have no interest in the position."

Anna noted that he had not disagreed, however.

The walk from the schoolhouse to the forge was not long, but walking anywhere with her parents always felt like a journey. Almost everyone the passed had something to say to the king and queen, and Lief and Jasmine stopped for all of them. They wanted to speak to their saviour-king, upon whom the land smiled, and their heroic queen with a past seemingly spun from a tragic fairy-tale.

Every person who approached them did so with shining eyes, especially as they looked upon her father. He was handsome enough, Anna supposed. But there was nothing particularly remarkable-looking about him, expect for some patchy scarring on his face, and of course, the magnificent Belt at his waist. It was for his deeds that the people flocked to him, and for his kindness. He had saved them many times over, and worked tirelessly to turn a city that had once been on the brink of death, into the bustling hub that Anna had always known it to be.

Endon and Jarred ran ahead, and Anna stayed a few paces behind her parents, clutching her schoolbooks to her chest. Watching the people interact with Lief and Jasmine made her feel as small as a mouse. They were like blazing suns in the eyes of Deltora; bright and brilliant and beautiful. Anna lived in the shadows that they cast.

After what seemed like ages, they made their way through the throng of people. Lief said something to Jasmine and she nodded and let go of his hand. She stopped and turned around, causing Anna to nearly bang into her side. Jasmine gave her a quick kiss on the side of her cheek. At thirteen, Anna was of the same height as her mother, and not done growing.

"You only have three more years of school left," Jasmine said. "Be brave." She turned and hurried after the boys, leaving Anna and Lief alone.

"This way," her father cocked his head down a side street. Anna gave him a little smile; she knew this game. No one knew the winding streets and alleys of Del as Lief did. He felt it was his duty to be among the people, more importantly, he _liked_ it. But on rare occasions, if he needed to move in peace or in haste, he would use that knowledge to his advantage.

Anna quickly followed him away from the noisy street, and behind rows of crowded houses. They reached an empty alley lined by the back exits of taverns and tiny shops, and slowed their paces.

"Am I in trouble?" Anna blurted out before she could stop herself.

He looked at her, half-amused. "Should you be?"

She shrugged moodily. It was unfair that she had been caught only because another child wanted to get her in trouble.

"What happened today?"

Anna flushed. "I did not finish my work last night, so I was not paying attention. I wanted to pass a note to Min, because Master Petronne will not let us sit near each other, I hit a boy with it instead and he got me in trouble."

Lief sighed heavily. "Your grandmother worked very hard to educate me, but I never had the chance to go to a real school. Still, I was lucky; it was a chance that your mother— and many people in the city— did not have. You have a great privilege, Anna, it would serve you very well to take advantage of it."

She looked away guiltily. She knew all of that, of course, but it had nothing to do with the way she felt.

"I like school sometimes, Father," she insisted. "I do not like Master Petronne, but we have read some good books, and I can solve mathematical problems very quickly. The only reason I was in trouble was because Blayss— the boy who caught my note— does not like me. He tells the other children that I think that I am better than the rest of them because of who I am."

Lief paused and looked at her thoughtfully. "Do you think so?"

"No!" Anna clenched her hands into fists. "And I have done nothing to them."

 _"They are just jealous,"_ Min had told her once, boisterously bumping their shoulders together. _"Pay them no mind."_

But what could they possibly be jealous of? They did not have the weight of her family's legacy on their shoulders.

She took a deep breath, and leaned against a brick wall. The alley carried a bad smell, and the wall was undoubtably filthy, but Anna did not care. It suddenly felt necessary that he know the truth. "In school, the teachers and students all talk about you, Mother, Barda, and all of Deltora's heroes. But the same children who tell stories about you will stop talking when I approach them," she swiped at the angry tears that had gathered in the corners of her eyes. "It is far easier for me to keep the friendships with the children I grew up with, rather than make new ones. You want us to act like we are of the people, but what if the people do not want me?"

Lief joined her against the filthy wall.

Tears had spilled down her cheeks, but Anna ignored them. They kept coming, as did her words. "Everyone in the city— in the _kingdom_ — would do anything for you. I am supposed to measure up to you one day, but how can I? It is far easier to not try at all!"

Lief was silent. Before Anna could move away, he leaned close and pulled her into his arms. "I did not know you thought that way," he said quietly.

"It is true!" Anna's words were muffled by his jacket.

"No, no," he stepped back and put his hands on her shoulders. To her surprise, he was smiling. "Children can be cruel, but your classmates do not speak for the people of Deltora. And the people of Deltora do not speak for you."

She rubbed her nose on her sleeve. "What do you mean?"

Lief began to walk again, placing an arm around her shoulder. He turned right, rather than continuing straight, the path that would take them home. "You are honest and clever and kind. I know you, Anna, and I know all of the good that is in your heart. This schoolyard foolishness will pass, I promise. And until it does, there are plenty of people who love you. Plenty more who do, even if they do not know you. Are you afraid to be queen; is that what you mean?"

Anna leaned against her father, suddenly feeling very tired, and very young. "I will not be like you."

"No," Lief agreed, and Anna felt sick. "You will be like _you_. I have learned many things over my life, and one of the most important lessons is that you cannot compare yourself to others. There are things you will do, that I cannot."

Anna looked up at him. It seemed impossible that that could be true, but he looked upon her with confidence and pride. "Do you mean that?"

"I swear I do. But you must work hard, all of your life, and that begins at the schoolhouse."

Anna scuffed her boot into the dusty road. Her anxieties for the future were still there, but the burden of it all felt a little lighter.

Lief guided her down another turn in the road. She frowned, now certain that they were nowhere near home. "It cannot be that all of your schoolmates think this way," Lief said.

"Maybe not _all_ of them," Anna agreed begrudgingly.

"And you must tell me— what did the note say?"

Anna's cheeks burned. It all seemed so silly. "I just wanted to ask Min if she wanted to play after school."

"That was all?" Lief grinned and she covered her face with her hands. "I can assure you, the mischief I caused when I was your age was far worse."

"I know. Barda has told me everything."

"I am sure he has," Lief grimaced. "It is funny that you should speak of him."

Anna looked around, and realized that they were in the small road that stretched behind Barda and Lindal's house. There was a fence and large yard between them and the house, but Anna could still hear a tangle of voices from inside.

"Do you not think Min is waiting for you?" Lief grinned.

Anna thew her arms around him. "Thank you!"

"Just be home for supper. There are enough children in that house as it is."

"I will," Anna nodded vigourously.

"But please," her father looked serious again. "Think about what I said. We should talk about it again very soon. Please do not feel that you need to keep things from me. You can trust me."

"I know," Anna held him close again, overcome with fondness. "I love you."

Lief's arms tightened, and he said nothing for a long moment. "I love you, too. And I have so much faith in you, Anna. Go, now."

She let him go, and burst through the gate. There would be time enough to think of duty. But for now she was happy to shake herself free from that weight, just for a little while.


End file.
